Data cabinet

Abstract

A data cabinet is disclosed, having a cabinet body for enclosing one or more rack-mounted units, the cabinet body having an inlet for allowing a cooling medium to enter the cabinet and an outlet for allowing the cooling medium to exit the cabinet, a rack for supporting the one or more rack-mounted units within the cabinet body, and one or more sealing members. The rack and the cabinet body define a first plenum space in fluid communication with the inlet and a second plenum space in fluid communication with the outlet. The sealing members substantially block the cooling medium from flowing between the first and second plenum spaces, whilst permitting the cooling medium to flow from the first plenum space to the second plenum space through the one or more rack-mounted units. This arrangement can improve the cooling efficiency, by increasing the flow rate through the rack-mounted units.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A data cabinet comprising:
 a cabinet body for enclosing one or more rack-mounted units, the cabinet body comprising an inlet for allowing a cooling medium to enter the cabinet and an outlet for allowing the cooling medium to exit the cabinet, wherein the outlet is configured to be connected to an outlet manifold for carrying the cooling medium away from the data cabinet; 
 a rack for supporting the one or more rack-mounted units within the cabinet body, the rack and the cabinet body being configured to define a first plenum space in fluid communication with the inlet and a second plenum space in fluid communication with the outlet; and 
 one or more sealing members configured to substantially block the cooling medium from flowing between the first and second plenum spaces via the rack, whilst permitting the cooling medium to flow from the first plenum space to the second plenum space through the one or more rack-mounted units, 
 wherein the one or more sealing members comprises: 
 a blanking plate configured to substantially or fully hermetically seal an unoccupied space in the rack, 
 wherein the data cabinet further comprises: 
 an aperture configured to allow one or more cables to pass through a wall of the cabinet body; 
 a cable seal capable of confirming to the shape of one or more cables passing through the aperture, so as to restrict fluid flow through the aperture; 
 an opening or permitting access to an interior of the cabinet body; 
 a door for closing said opening; and 
 a door seal configured to form a substantially gastight seal around the door when closed; 
 wherein the one or more sealing members, the cable seal and the door seal are each configured to form an anechoic and hermetic seal, such that the data cabinet is anechoically and hermetically sealed from a surrounding environment. 
 
     
     
       2. The cabinet of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more rack-mounted units are spaced apart from the cabinet body, and the one or more sealing members are further configured to substantially block the cooling medium from flowing between the first and second plenum spaces via the space between the rack-mounted units and the cabinet body. 
     
     
       3. The cabinet of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sealing members are configured to form a hermetic seal around each of the one or more rack-mounted units, such that the cooling medium can only flow from the first plenum space to the second plenum space through the one or more rack-mounted units. 
     
     
       4. The cabinet of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more cables are power cables and/or data cables. 
     
     
       5. The cabinet of  claim 1 , wherein the cabinet body is constructed from a plurality of separate components hermetically connected to one another. 
     
     
       6. The cabinet of  claim 5 , where adjacent ones of the plurality of components are hermetically connected by welded joints, and the cabinet further comprises:
 one or more joint seals each configured to form a substantially gastight seal around a gap between the welded joints. 
 
     
     
       7. The cabinet of  claim 1 , wherein the inlet comprises:
 an inlet gasket configured to form a substantially gastight seal around the inlet when the cabinet is installed in a datacentre. 
 
     
     
       8. The cabinet of  claim 7 , wherein the gasket is configured to form a substantially gastight seal between the inlet and a floor tile beneath the cabinet. 
     
     
       9. The cabinet of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more sealing members comprises:
 one or more first sealing members disposed on a first side of the rack, to form a seal with the first plenum space; and 
 one or more second sealing members disposed on a second side of the rack, to form a seal with the second plenum space. 
 
     
     
       10. The cabinet of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling medium is air. 
     
     
       11. A facility comprising:
 one or more data cabinets according to  claim 1 ; 
 an inlet manifold configured to supply the cooling medium to respective inlets of the one or more data cabinets; and 
 an outlet manifold configured to receive the cooling medium fluid from respective outlets of the one or more data cabinets. 
 
     
     
       12. The facility of  claim 11 , wherein each of the one or more data cabinets comprises:
 an outlet gasket configured to form a substantially gastight seal between the respective outlet of said one of the data cabinets and the outlet manifold. 
 
     
     
       13. The facility of  claim 11 , wherein the outlet manifold is accommodated in a void above a ceiling of a room in which the one or more data cabinets are installed. 
     
     
       14. The cabinet of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an outlet gasket configured to form a substantially gastight seal around the outlet when the cabinet is installed in a datacentre. 
 
     
     
       15. The cabinet of  claim 1 , wherein the blanking plate comprises a gasket for forming said substantially or fully hermetic seal between the blanking plate and the rack. 
     
     
       16. The cabinet of  claim 15 , wherein the gasket is formed of a soft compressible material.